Sta. Lucia
Land may have been late in selling to overseas-based Filipinos but its late
timing proved perfect.

It started
selling its project abroad in 2011 just when other companies had made inroads
almost saturating the market.

Michelle
Robles, corporate marketing director of Sta. Lucia Land, saidthe company differed by giving buyers a
variety of choices in acquiring properties in the Philippines either for their
own use or for investment.

Liezel
Magpoc, company senior vice president for international sales, said Sta. Lucia
was the only developer offering products to suit the needs and budget of the
market: either a lot, a house and lot package or investment in a condominium or
a condotel.

Magpoc said
another advantage of Sta. Lucia is that its development is all over the
Philippines with 200 projects covering 10,000 hectares enabling it to offer
projects in buyers’ hometown. Magpoc said that Sta Lucia in its roadshows
abroad tries to convince Filipinos it is better to invest their hard-earned
money in properties rather than keeping them in banks.

“Somebody who
could only afford to part with P3,000 to P4,000 per month can initially buy a
lot from us, then eventually Sta. Lucia can construct a house for him,” she
said.

According to
Magpoc, the income, profession and location of the overseas Filipinos have much
to do with the salability of Sta. Lucia’s real estate products.

“For example,
some parts of Italy have a large number of Filipinos who hail from Batangas who
would naturally want to buy properties located in that province. In Spain,
majority of our buyers come from Nueva Ecija and Ilocos. In London, since many
Filipinos there work as nurses, they earn more. But surprisingly it is the
domestics who can afford to buy Sta. Lucia condos because they don’t pay
taxes,” Magpoc said.

“US and
Canada-based Filipinos prefer condos because quite a number of our
“kababayans”no longer see themselves
retiring here. They hold on to condos for their visits, as investment or for
their relatives here,” Magpoc added.

Middle East
and Singapore-based Filipinos get lots or house and lot packages since most of
them return to live in the country, plus the fact that it is hard to own
properties in those countries.

In general,
she said, lots are more preferred by overseas Filipinos because they are more
affordable. A piece of land is the first step to fulfilling every Filipino’s
dream to own a home.

“It’s a wise
choice because land values appreciate fast. One project we launched in San Jose
del Monte, Bulacan in 2005 used to sell P3,500 per square meter. The value has
nearly doubled to P6,800 per sq.m.,” Magpoc said. Sta. Lucia’s main product
lines really are in subdivisions and horizontal developments.

“This is
actually where Sta. Lucia started,” Magpoc said.

Leveraging on
that strength, it has not been difficult for Sta. Lucia to build up its land
banking through joint venture arrangements with locals in areas where there
opportunities for development.

“That sets us
apart from other developers because not everyone can afford a property in
Makati. This also addresses the fact that overseas Filipios still prefer to own
a property in their hometown. As a national brand, Sta. Lucia partners with the
locals who know the community,” said Magpoc.

This also
explains why Sta. Lucia is not present in the Makati CBD (Central Business
Disrict) where there already is a heavy concentration of condos.

“A lot of
condominium developments are so-called transit-oriented – where the buildings
are near access to transportation. We believe otherwise. Once a community
rises, thetransportation system soon
follows the development which was our experience in Davao,” said Magpoc.

Magpoc said
other developers which have gone much ahead abroad did not find it difficult to
sell condos at the start because buyers have little choice.The come-on had always been affordability.

“Imagine a
P1.7 million 17-sq.m. condo unit at P10,000 per square meter is affordable.
That’s very nice to hear but the buyer has no idea how small that 17-sq.m. unit
actually is. For the same price, one can have a house and lot somewhere in
Batangas,” Magpoc said.

Though
competition is stiff, Magpoc said sales of the international operations are
increasing every year “because we don’t stop in our developments.”

She said even
before setting up abroad, 90 to 95 percent of Sta. Lucia’s buyers are OFWs but
transactions are done here through their relatives and not direct to the
buyers.

The fact that
Sta. Lucia’s products are for end-users, the default rate averages 10 to 15
percent. The speculative behavior of the market since the Asian financial
crisis seems to have disappeared.

Magpoc said
Sta. Lucia also prides itself as the most reasonably-priced among the developers
“because we don’t spend too much on advertising.”

“We only rely
on our track record,” Magpoc added.

But despite
establishing a niche in horizontal development, Sta. Lucia has not totally
ignored condo development but under different tack.

According to
Magpoc, Sta. Lucia focuses on tourist areas and not CBDs in building condos
geared for investments through rental income

Sta Lucia’s
condotel concept is similar to time-share, only better. Unlike time-share,
condotel investors get to own a unit. Initially, the unit is pooled together
with other units and leased out to the developer for a period of 15 years,
renewable. The investor starts earning once full down payment is made, normally
after three years which is also about the time the construction shall have been
finished. In addition, the investor is entitled to use his unit, depending on
the availability, for 30 room nights per year.

Once the
property is turned over, the buyer begins earning dividends. In the end, the
quarterly income would offset the payment after a certain period of time.

“We are
pushing this condotel concept as this sets us apart from other condo
developers,” Magpoc said.

Robles said
the company has three operational condo/condotels: two in Mactan and one in
Quezon City (La Breza).Soto Grande in
Mactan was the first to operate.

From 60 to 65
percent average last year, occupancy rate has been increasing since January,
Magpoc said.

Sta. Lucia
Land launched last year Tower 2 of Splendido Tagaytay, which is a condotel,
after the success of its Tower One, a pure condo.

This year,
Sta, Lucia will open one more condo/condotel in Mactan, two more in Quezon City
and one each in Davao and in Iloilo.

Magpoc said
Sta. Lucia has had success in selling condos/condotel units to foreigners,
especially its Mactan properties. Surprisingly, these units have been selling
well to Singaporeans.